My Favorite Mistake
by EmW05
Summary: Eleven years ago they made a pact to return, no matter what, but that was before divorce and marrage... and before the group had experienced life. Now, that day has come. They came back. Where do they go from here? (Full Length story now)
1. Prolouge

**Author Note:** I wrote a short story once and it ended up turning into a full length story so there is no telling where this story is going to end up, but for now it is a _**Naley**_ _**Song**_ _**Fic**_. I have always been a fan of Sheryl Crow and hadn't heard this song for a long time, but when I did it reminded me of Haley and Nathan. So I hope you like it and please,please,please review. I love to hear everyone's opinions, good or bad. I don't mind._

* * *

_

_My Favorite Mistake_

_"I woke up and called this morning_

_The tone of your voice was a warning_

_That you don't care for me anymore_

_I made up the bed we sleep in_

_I looked at the clock when you creep in_

_It's 6 a.m. and I'm alone_

_Did you know when you go_

_It's the perfect ending_

_To the bad day I been used to spending_

_When you go all I know is_

_You're my favorite mistake_

_Your friends are sorry for me_

_They watch you pretend to adore me_

_But I'm no fool to this game_

_Now here comes your secret lover_

_She'd be unlike any other_

_Until your guilt goes up in flame_

_You're my favorite mistake_

_Well maybe nothin' lasts forever_

_Even when you stay together_

_I don't need forever after_

_It's your laughter won't let me go_

_So I'm holding on this way_

_Did you know, could you tell_

_You were the only one_

_That I ever loved_

_Now everything's so wrong_

_Did you see me walking by?_

_Did it ever make you cry?_

_You're my favorite mistake_

_You're my favorite mistake_

_You're my favorite mistake"_

_

* * *

_

Eleven. It had been eleven minutes since I had last looked at the clock, eleven hours since I had last seen him, and eleven months since we had met. I should have known we wouldn't, he couldn't make it to a year.

Staring at the clock, I watched the seven turn to an eight andblinked at the numbers. Five fifty eight in the morning and I still hadn't heard from him. The late nights and early mornings were really wearing on me.

Night after night and morning after morning I would lay her in our bed waiting for his return, wondering, hoping that he would slide into bed with me. And he usually did. Once in bed, he would run his hands down my arm and whisper into my ears, "Love you". Part of me would smirk at his every night statement knowing that if he really did love me he wouldn't continue to come home at unruly hours every night.

Glancing back over at the clock and then at the cracked door, I smirked at myself thinking that if I knew what was right I would leave, right now, and never come back. I knew I didn't deserve this but it didn't matter, I loved him.

He was my first love, as cliché as it may sound. Well, my first if you don't count Tommy Parker, my first boyfriend, in the third grade. Everyday he would pick a flower at recess and give it to me telling me that "I was more beautiful than this dandelion". Looking back on it now, he gave me a weed everyday for five months and I still thought he hung the moon. But whatever, I was seven I didn't know any better.

Here I am nearly eleven years later and knowing that I am a smart girl and for once in my life I should make smart choices. Lying in my bed, I go back to playing the part of the dumb, naïve girl who believes that everything will change and that in 'just a second' he will come running through that door, hug me and tell me that he is sorry for all the nights I have spent alone.

I squeeze my eyes tight and open them slowly hoping that I will wake up from this nightmare and go back to being unknown. Back to being the girl whose name no one knows, back to being Lucas Scott's best friend, back before I made the biggest mistake of my life.

Sure, he was handsome. Sure, he was the star basketball player. And sure, every girl who came within fifty feet of him wanted to do what they _thought _I was doing. They thought I was the girl who tamed the wild beast. They thought that at night we would cuddle up next to each other under our duvet down comforter and whisper sweet nothings into each others ears.

Man, were they wrong. There I was the epitome of the married teenage cliché lying on top of the covers staring at the ceiling fan counting how many times it has spun in the last five minutes. Five minutes, it was now six o two and I sighed.

School began in less than two hours and I hoped that no matter where he was and who he was with he would remember he had a chemistry test today.

I rolled off the bed and let my feet dangle toward the floor. Glancing into the mirror above the dresser, I ran my fingers through my hair. I felt as if I was five seconds away from a complete mental breakdown. Before I let myself fall into the pity pool I was making for myself, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, sounding half-groggy and half-totally aggravated with the situation I was in.

"Hales?" The way he said my name made me cringe. His voice caressed it, cradling it making it sound so soft and smooth. Maybe he was hoping that I would be feeling lenient as I had every night before.

I never asked and never complained. He thought that it was no big deal and that I didn't mind. Either that or he was even more naïve than I was and he thought that I didn't know.

Saying nothing into the receiver, I waited for him. "Hales? You there?"

"Always. Unlike some people."

"Come on Haley. We had a late night. The game lasted tons longer than I expected and we had the party a Tim's and I drank way too much and I couldn't find anyone to take me home..."

Starting to make our bed, my bed, I said, "So tell me, when did you start thinking of this excuse? When you met up with her or when you left the house or... wait, probably when you found out I wasn't coming to the game?"

"It's not like that."

"Well, please, enlighten me. What is it like, Nathan? Because right now it is 'like' you are having a lot of fun anywhere and everywhere but where I am."

"That is not true and it pisses me off that you would even say that."

"Want to know what pisses me off, honey? What pisses me off, if you are even telling me the truth, is that you didn't even call to tell me where you were."

"My cell phone is at home and..."

I stopped paying attention to his lies and threw the pillows onto the bed. I ran my hands over the soft, velvet lining of the pillows. As I walked into the kitchen I noticed that his cell phone was not on the charger. Another lie.

"Nathan, I don't have the slightest idea what you just said other than the fact that lied to me about the cell phone. It is not on the charger and there is no place in the universe where you would even think about going without your cell phone especially a party." I sighed into the phone and felt another breakdown coming on.

The other end of the phone was silent. I closed my eyes and shook my head knowing that the silence was the death of our relationship.

"Just tell me one thing." I managed to say through the tears that were beginning to fall rapidly from my brown eyes. The silence remained and I apprehensively continued, "Did you think that I wouldn't find out?"

"Haley don't do this to yourself."

I scoffed at him, "Nathan I didn't do this to myself, you did it to me."

He sighed and said, "I never meant to hurt you."

"Famous last words, huh?" I leaned against the refrigerator in our kitchen, "If you didn't mean to hurt me then you wouldn't have done it."

"It just happened."

"No Nathan, stubbing your toe, 'just happens'. Forgetting to put the toilet seat down, 'just happens'. Cheating on your wife of under a year doesn't 'just happen'."

"I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry."

"Ya know if this was the first time I had been sitting home alone all night wondering where you were, or who you were with, or what you were doing I might consider accepting your apology..."

"But not this time."

"Oh you know me so well Nathan Scott. You know me so well." I said, every word dripping with sarcasm.

I hung up the phone and expected him to call back, but he didn't. I expected him to come through the door of our apartment and beg me to come back to him, be he didn't and the part of me that still loved him felt completely different from the part of me who despised his every move.

My raging emotions were talking over my already perplexed thought process. I wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to scream, and part of me ...was tired. And that part of me walked over to the couch, sat down, took a deep breath, and sighed feeling alone.

But that was okay, sometimes alone is better than miserable.

**Author Note:** So what do you think? Tell me please!


	2. Unwanted Feelings Return

Chapter One  
Returning Unwanted Feelings

My watch read ten thirty, but by the looks of the empty streets in downtown Atlanta I knew that it must be later. I tapped on the glass face and held it to my ear. "Damn." No ticking. "There's another expense to add to the checkbook."

The streetlights were flickering on and off. Bugs swarmed around the lights. The buzzing of the lights, the chirping of the cicadas, mixed with the smell of thick Georgia summer nights made me stop in the middle of the sidewalk. This was home.

My apartment was still three blocks away and even though I had no idea as to how late at night or early in the morning it was I didn't care. I sat down on someone's stoop and looked up at the dark, clear night sky. The stars were out and plentiful tonight and for a moment, I was lonely. I wondered what it would be like to have someone with me right now.

Thoughts of him popped back into my head as they did on occasions when I was feeling self pity for myself. I closed my eyes, shook my head, stood up, and went on my way back to my apartment.

For the first time in months, the building was silent. I pressed the up button of the elevator and a minute later I stepped inside. The smell was reminiscent of French fries and rubber. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. Stepping out of the elevator I walked toward my apartment. D42.

I put the key into the door and jiggled it a little. Sometimes you have to do that. Finally the door opened, lets just say without ease, and I felt like I had broken a sweat.

The apartment was pitch black, other than the green light on the microwave which read 3:27. "Damnit." I said as I threw my watch onto the couch. I tossed my shoes onto the couch as well. "Why the hell didn't Anna tell me what time it was?"

I walked into the bedroom. My cell phone lay on the bed along with a stack of mail. No missed calls. I sorted through the mail. Bills. Magazines. Catalogs. I stopped when I saw an envelope with hand writing that brought me back over 11 years. I dropped it back onto the bed.

I threw my clothes across the room, knowing that I wouldn't have to wear nice clothes for another two days. I put my robe on, pulled my hair into a messy bun atop my head, and walked into the bathroom. After rinsing my face, I looked up. The person in the mirror looked back at me. It was someone I had known long ago. She was scared to read the letter, knowing that it was something she had been dreading since she left.

Running my hands over my face and threw my hair, I looked back into the mirror. When the suit was off, the make up gone, the briefcase closed, and when the day was over I went back to being Haley James: Tree Hill High alumni, fill in cheerleader, tutor extraordinaire, former wife of Nathan Scott.

I could see the envelope, which I was avoiding, from the doorway. I knew what it was. I cringed and walked back into my room. Slowly I picked up the letter and torn it open. It was written on stationary.

_The Scott's_

I apprehensively opened the card.

_Haley,_

_Damn. It's been a long time. Haven't seen you since the wedding. We missed you at the 10 year reunion, but completely understand how crazy life in Atlanta is right now for you. How's the new book coming along? Brooke loved "Skipping Happily Ever After". She said it was so you. _

_But anyway, I am not writing you this to catch up, although we do need to do that. I am writing this letter to remind you of something. Eleven years ago, at the River Court, we all decided to meet up later on in life. (I know you agreed before the Nathan thing, but still a promise is a promise) Surprise, its here._

_Be at River Court at 2:30 PM on July 18._

_Yours truly,_

_Lucas Scott_

_PS: If you don't want to come because of Nathan, please come for me. I miss you._

I sighed and pulled out a piece of paper that was in with the letter. I unfolded it and recognized my own handwriting.

_I, Haley J. Scott, agree to meet Lucas Scott, Nathan Scott, Peyton Sawyer, and Brooke Davis, on July 18, 2016 in Tree Hill, North Carolina at the River Court._

I shook my head. Why was I so stupid and why did I sign as Haley Scott? Oh, right. I was married then. I threw myself onto the bed and closed my eyes. What was going on? Why had I agreed to do this so long ago? Did I really think we would be together?

Yes, I did.

The only question is why? Why did I think we would be together forever?

Because I loved him and I thought he loved me.

Did he ever love me? Was there ever a time while he was with her that he was thinking of me, picturing me all alone in our bed knowing that I was thinking about him?

I could only hope he did.

I felt a tear drip from my eye and fall to my pillow. It was feather. Nathan was allergic to feather pillows. I quickly wiped the tear from my cheek and looked up at the ceiling then back down at the letter.

Remembering when we all agreed to meet made my stomach tie in knots. I closed my eyes again. I could picture that night. That night was nearly perfect. I remember exactly how the night felt... how it smelled... how I felt.

_

* * *

_

_The air was thick that day. The smell of summer flowers and hormones lingered over the teenagers. It was fairly quiet outside, minus the babbling of Haley Scott and the swooshing of the basketball threw the net every time Nathan Scott put one up._

_Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer sat with their legs crossed on the bench at the River Court watching Haley Scott make a fool of herself playing basketball with two of the best basketball players to ever step foot in Tree Hill, never the less live there._

"_She shoots..." Nathan said, in his best announcer voice._

_Haley shot the ball and Lucas watched it completely miss the hoop._

"..._She misses!" Haley screamed as she pushed Nathan out of the way. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she looked up at him and then back to Lucas Scott, "I don't know why I continue to completely embarrass the hell out of myself."_

"_I think deep down you enjoy it." Lucas said as he passed the ball back to his best friend. Originally he didn't like the idea of Nathan and Haley together, but Haley was good for him. Whether or not he was good for her was still up in the air, but they were married and going to be together so Lucas had to accept that._

"_Right, I enjoy humiliation." She rolled her eyes and tossed the ball to Nathan. "I think I will leave this to the pros." Haley winked at Nathan._

_Nathan caught the ball and held it out to Lucas, "One on one. First to twenty one."_

"_You're on." Lucas said with a nod._

_Haley sat on top of the picnic table and Brooke looked up at her, "Tutor girl, what's going to happen when we graduate?"_

_Haley shrugged, "I don't really want to think about it."_

"_We have to though, I mean, its going to be here before we know it." Peyton ran her fingers through her curly blonde hair._

_Haley put her hand on Peyton's shoulder, "Well I figure we will all go our own ways... maybe."_

_Brooke's lips started to tremble. She looked like she might cry._

"_You've got to be kidding me, Brooke. Why the hell are you crying?" Peyton asked._

"_I'm not crying. My eyes are watering, that's all." Brooke said, fighting back tears._

_Haley leaned forward, "She is crying."_

"_I'm on my period okay? I'm a little emotional. Leave me alone." Brooke darted back._

_Peyton and Haley looked at each other and Peyton called Lucas and Nathan over. The boys came running over and Lucas noticed Brooke crying._

"_Brooke, whats wrong?"_

"_Nothing." She said wiping the tears from her eyes._

_Lucas looked at Haley who was shaking her head. She mouthed, "Just leave her alone." He nodded._

"_Okay," Peyton started, "Now I think it would be a cool idea if we made... sort of..."_

"_A pact..." Haley said, interrupting._

"_Yeah, a pact." Peyton agreed. She reached into her backpack, which she took everywhere, and pulled out a sheet of drawing paper. She started writing. "Lets all agree to, no matter what, meet back here in... eleven years."_

"_Why eleven?" Nathan asked as he tossed the basketball in the air._

_Lucas took it from him and said, "Because it will be ten years since our graduation."_

"_Exactly." Peyton said as she handed the notepad to Brooke, who had finally stopped crying._

"_This makes me feel better." Brooke said, looking up from the notepad. _

_The notepad was passed around the entire group until it finally made its way back to Peyton. "Brooke, you wanna keep this?" Brooke nodded. "You seriously can't lose this, okay?"_

"_Are you calling me irresponsible?" _

_Everyone looked at Peyton, who couldn't decide if this was a rhetorical question or not. She just shook her head to be safe._

"_I won't lose it. Promise." Brooke said, studying the paper._

_At the bottom everyone had signed their names._

**X: Peyton A. Sawyer**

**X: Brooke Davis**

**X: Lucas K. Scott**

**X: Haley James Scott**

**X: Nathan D. Scott**

_Brooke folded the paper and put it into her purse. She looked up at the group. "Same place. Same time. 2016." She paused, "Damn, that sound like such a long time."_

"_We'll be old by then." Nathan said._

_Haley hit him on the arm and fighting back a yawn said, "We won't be old Nate."_

_Nathan put his arm around his wife and said, "I think we need to go. Someone's tired."_

"_Not tired." Haley said, yawning again._

"_Exuted too much energy playing that basketball, huh Hales?" Lucas said._

"_Screw you Luke." Haley said as Nathan helped her off the table._

"_Love you too Hales."_

"_Bye Haley. Bye Nathan. See you all later." Peyton said._

"_Bye tutor girl and husband." Brooke said as she rested her head on Lucas shoulder._


	3. Thinking Causes Pain

Chapter Two  
Thinking Causes Pain

Rain. I hated driving in the rain. The roads were slick and people seem to forget the rules of the road at the sight of a single drop. Plus, my windshield wipers suck. Plain and simple.

I fiddled with my radio until I finally came to the conclusion that nothing at all was worth listening too. As I ran my fingers through my hair, I was surprised when the hair stopped above my shoulders. Oh, right. I got a hair cut last week. First hair cut in over a year. I was ready for a change. I was ready for a lot of things at this point in my life, but more or less to scared to do them.

I stepped on the gas peddle a little harder, not because I wanted to get to the airport soon, but because of the fact I hated the rain. My eyes scanned the road. I passed a white Spyder and through the rain, I could see a young couple. His hand covered her shoulders and she stared out the window. I knew how she felt...

_

* * *

_

_**This takes place before Nathan and Haley are married...**_

_Everything was quiet. Nothing was supposed to be quiet. The rambunctious seniors, piercing shouts, and roaring laughter had been replaced by 253 solemn, calm, and almost timid students. At a single glance the young adults dressed in their school colors could have been mistaken for visitors at a funeral home after the death of a loved one. The only thing they had lost was a game. _

_65-71, the Tree Hill Raven's lost their first game of the season and left behind a basketball, a couple jerseys, and their pride._

_Nathan kept playing it over and over in his head. 'At two minutes to go in the first half I should have gone for the three. Damnit. If I had, who knows what might have happened.' He closed his eyes and watched Lucas pass him the ball. He held on to it for a half a second too long before passing it to Tim. He opened his eyes and cringed._

_Haley stood with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the big blue bus. She hated busses. She also hated the fact that Lucas would be sitting with Brooke, or Peyton, or... someone other than her and she would be stuck sitting with Nathan. On any other day, she would not have minded this. But today, today was different._

_Nathan picked her up early that morning. Earlier than she expected and that was when their first fight occurred. He knocked on her door at six thirty._

_She rolled over and moaned._

_He heard her and opened the door._

_She threw a pillow at him._

_He cursed._

_She looked at her watch and mumbled, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Picking you up." He said. Nathan walked toward her closet._

_Haley reached for her remote and threw it at him. _

_It hit him on the back of the head. He moaned and said, "What was that for?"_

_She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and narrowed her eyes at him as he slowly turned around, "I can only imagine what you would do to me had you been the one so rudely awakened at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning."_

_He crossed his arms over his chest, "Fine... ya know. That is just... fine, Haley." The remote lay on the floor. Nathan bent over to pick it up. He started to speak as he stood up, "I guess this is what I get for trying to do something nice for my girlfriend, huh?"_

_Haley half-asleep, half-pissed off said, not thinking, "I guess so, Nathan, I guess so."_

_Nathan was standing in the doorway when an angry Haley gave in and told him she would go to breakfast with him. She rushed into the bathroom, washed her face, and threw on some clothes. Her bags were already backed for the annual senior trip._

_Almost in a mediocre mood, Haley wasn't even in the car before Nathan's cell phone rang. She leaned closed to see if she could hear the other line. _

"_Hello?"_

"_Nate?"_

_It was a girl. _

_He whispered, "What are you calling me for?"_

"_I just wanted to talk to you."_

"_I told you not to call." _

_Haley looked around the front of the car, "Nathan? Everything okay?"_

"_Yeah." He said quickly, "Just fine."_

_She could see his lips move and she strained her eyes and ears in hopes to hear the converstation. She heard nothing and watching him drop the phone into his pocket, but not before putting it on silent._

"_Who was it?" She asked, fastening her seatbelt._

"_Oh, no one." His nostrils flared. They always did that when he lied. His face got hot. He knew she was watching him extremely carefully and he knew he had to be extremely careful._

"_No, really, who was it?"_

_He started the car and looked everywhere but in her eyes. "Its not a big deal."_

"_Then why won't you tell me?"_

"_Because I don't need to."_

"_Wow, good reason." She looked out the window and mumbled, "See Nathan this is why I have trouble trusting you."_

"_I heard that." He said, taking a sharp turn._

"_Good."_

"_Like I have the easiest time in the world trusting you, anytime that you are not with me you are with Lucas..."_

_She shook her head, "Who is like my brother..."_

"_Who is my brother!"_

_Haley bit her lip hard and whipped her head around to look at Nathan. The words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them, "I hate you sometimes." _

_She quickly turned her head toward the window and covered her mouth. Had she meant what she just said?_

_Nathan's eyes remained on the road and his mouth remained shut. There was nothing to be said. She hated him... sometimes._

"_I think we should just go to school," He said._

"_I think you're right."_

_Now here they were. Two hours later. Lucas finally strolled in. Brooke sat on top of her luggage, might I add she was the only one with an actually suitcase. Peyton scribbled in her notebook, looking up at Lucas every few second._

_Haley put one hand on her hip and she dug the other deep into her pocket. Nathan walked passed her with out even saying a word._

_She deserved it though. She told him that she hated him. She deserved to not be spoken too._

_As she turned around she saw a girl's hand run down Nathan's arm. She shook her head and looked back up, the girl was gone. Haley sighed and searched the crowd for Nathan._

"_Save me." She said, putting her hand on Lucas's shoulders._

"_From what?" He asked her, crossing his arms over his chest._

"_Everything."_

"_How do you expect me to save you?"_

"_Well you can start by sitting with me on the bus."_

"_I am sitting with Jake. I thought you would sit with Nathan."_

"_Well you thought wrong. This is perfect, just perfect."_

"_Whats going on Haley?"_

"_I hate him." She turned her back to him._

"_You don't hate him." He put his hand on her arm and tried to get her to look at him._

_She gave him, "No I really do. And by the way, who is that girl?" Haley asked, pointing to a tall, lanky sophomore._

"_Uh... I think that is Savannah Blackstone. I think she is a sophomore."_

"_Savannah Blackstone, ha. A sophomore? What is she doing out here?"_

"_Late for school I guess. Why?"_

"_Because I think Nathan is sleeping with her because I won't."_

_Everyone started to board the bus, while Lucas and Haley continued their conversation._

"_You're crazy." Lucas said, bending over and picking up his bag._

_She shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe." She looked up at him, "But will you please sit with me. I have candy."_

_Lucas laughed, "What kind?"_

"_Sweet Tarts. You're favorite."_

_He laughed again and put his arm around her waist, "Is this a bribe?"_

"_Is it working?" She asked, with a handful of the candy._

_He took a package from her hand, opened it, and tossed two into his mouth, "I would say so."_


	4. My How Things Have Changed

**Chapter Three  
****My How Things Have Changed**

Before I got the letter I thought I was at a point in my life when I was prepared for anything. I thought I was ready to move on, or maybe I thought I had moved on. Whatever I thought, I was wrong, really wrong.

Now here I stood in the middle of an airport I had been in so many times before feeling something I had felt so many times before. Anxiety. The feeling was rising through my body. This could not have come at a more inconvenient time.

I was suddenly short of breath. My heart started to race. My hands slipped on and off of my luggage and I started to stumble. I strained my eyes and searched for somewhere to sit for a moment.

A woman in her mid forties with a short blonde bob noticed my troubles and reached for my hand. I let her help me toward a chair. The stranger ran her hands over my hair and down my back, "Honey, can I help you?"

I tried to take a deep breath and speak, but nothing would come out. I reached for a pen from my purse and on my hand I wrote, "Sugar packet."

She nodded and ran toward the coffee shop cattycornered from where I was seated. I sorted through my purse for my blood sugar kit, but it was no where to be found. I closed my eyes and wiped my forehead clean. The sweat was trickling down toward my eyes.

Finally the woman came back with a handful of sugar packets. I reached for one, ripped it open, and poured it into my mouth. I tried to swallow. After it finally went down, all I could do was wait and see if this was going to be another one of those attacks that sent me to the hospital for countless numbers of tests or if I would be okay and able to go on my way.

The woman sitting next to me suddenly looked familiar. It was a woman I had spent Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter dinners with. I had sat next to this woman and told her how much I loved and cared for her son and how I hoped someday I could give her the grandchildren she had always wanted.

Sitting next to me was Deb Scott, my former mother in law.

Right then I almost hoped that this attack would send me to the hospital so that I would have a reason not to talk to her. I couldn't be so lucky. The attack passed and I remained sitting next to Deb Scott, a woman I had not seen in over ten years, silent.

I leaned forward and picked up my purse. I rested my hand on my luggage and turned to her, "Um... thanks a lot for helping me. I forgot to..."

She almost smiled and said, "Not a problem. I saw that you needed help and I'm just glad I was there."

"Yeah," I stood up. She did the same, "Well I better get going. I have a plane to catch."

Deb nodded and turned to walk away, "Haley."

I slowly turned around, nervous to hear anything that was about to be said, "It's good seeing you and... take care of yourself. No one wants to see you get hurt."

I nodded. "Thanks."

I didn't need my former mother-in-law looking out for me. I could look out for myself. I had been looking out for myself for ten years, ever since I drove out of Tree Hill without ever turning back. I didn't look back to see if my parents approved of my leaving and I didn't look back to see if anyone was following me because if I did, I knew I would see Nathan and he was the last person I wanted to see as I raced out of Tree Hill.

I began humming to myself and closed my eyes. Lucas hated it when I hummed...

* * *

"I hate it when you do that!" Lucas yelled as he raced back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. "I hate it when you ignore me like this."

Brooke shuffled around the house, baby in tow and said, through clinched teeth, "I am **not** ignoring you, hon. I am just busy and when I am busy I tend to forget to be there for you _every waking second_." She narrowed her eyes at him and half smiled.

The couple's townhouse in the newly developing Ashford Hills in Savannah, Georgia was a wreck. Lucas's friends from work and several of Abby's friends had been over the night before. Beer cans cover the living room tables and upstairs Barbie dolls and dress up clothes were thrown throughout the playroom.

Lucas picked up five cans, smashed them, and tossed the cans into the plastic trash bag he was holding. "Brooke!" He sighed and picked up another three cans. She was doing it again, "Brooke! When is my mother supposed to be here?"

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Lucas kicked the door open. His mother stood right infront of him.

"Well Luke, you have a party last night huh?" She winked at him.

"Hey mom." He said, giving his mother a hug and making sure not to spill any remaining beer onto his mother's clothes.

Brooke ran around Abby's room, with Beau in her arms. "Abigail Grace, please come take a bath. Meemaw will be here any minute and then daddy and I have to..."

Abby ran up the stairs with Karen just a step behind. "Meemaw is here." She smiled at Brooke.

She smiled back and handed Beau to his grandmother, "Okay, well I hate to do this but Luke and I really have got to go."

"Do you have everything ready? Everything packed up?"

Brooke nodded and she ran a list through her head. Underwear, check. Pajamas, check. Toothbrush, toothpaste, check, check. "I think so." She started down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she saw Lucas looking through a photo album.

"What'cha doin' babe?" She asked as she walked toward her husband and put her hand on his muscular shoulder.

"Just thinkin'." He said, slowly looking up at her.

Brooke sat next to him on the couch and put her head on his shoulder. "Oh?"

He ran his fingers over a picture that was taken at their wedding. Lucas and Haley were dancing together in the middle of the ballroom. He sighed and looked up at her, "What if she doesn't come, Brooke? I mean, I haven't seen... we haven't seen each other in so long and I know she doesn't want to have to see Nathan..."

Brooke kissed him on the head and put her soft hands on his rough face, "She'll come, I promise." She winked at him and smiled.

He kissed her hand that remained on his face, "I hope so." He smiled back, "You know I love you right."

She took her hands off his face and leaned back on the couch, "How could you not?" She asked. "Look at me. I am the most fabulous looking twenty seven year old woman in all of Savannah."

"Speeking of age." Brooke stood up and Lucas followed her up the stairs, "Someone has a birthday coming up."

"Don't remind me." She mumbled. "I am going to be twenty eight and that is almost thirty you know and then... I'll be over the hill."

"Might as well get her a walker, huh Luke?" Karen said as she pulled Abby out of the bathtub.

Brooke nodded, "Might as well."

Abby grabbed hold of her mothers leg, "Momma, are you leaving yet?"

"Why?" She reached down and picked up her soaking wet daughter, "Do you want me to?"

Abby nodded and her dripping blonde hair shook turning spots of Brooke's light blue shirt turn almost navy, "Yeah, sorta, cause Meemaw is gonna let me make cookies and then we are gonna eat all the ice cream we can." Abby smiled, showing the three front teeth that were missing.

"Alright, Abs, but lets hope you don't loose anymore teeth while Meemaw is here because if you do, I don't think you will be able to eat a single thing." When Brooke said "single thing" she tapped her little girl on the nose, making Abby giggle.

Brooke put her back down and she clawed at her daddy, "Hey daddy, guess what?"

Lucas kneeled down, "Whats that hun?"

"I know something that you don't know."

Lucas and Brooke looked back and forth at one another. Brooke shrugged.

"What would that be my little princess?" Lucas picked her up.

"Come here, it's a secret." Lucas smiled and Abby whispered, "Someone called and told me they are going to go to see you," so loud that everyone in the room could hear.

"And who would that be?" He whispered back.

Abby jumped out of his arms and put her hands on her hips, "Nope, can't tell ya." She ran out of the bathroom and into her room. "Bye momma. Bye daddy. I'll save you some cookies."

Brooke and Lucas kissed Beau on the head and gave Karen hugs. "Thank you so much for doing this Ms. Roe. We appreciate it so much."

"Please, Brooke, please how many times do I have to tell you? It's Karen."

"Well Karen, this means a lot to us."

She nodded, "Now you two go. I don't want you to be late!" She pushed them out the front door. "Go, go! And have fun!"

Lucas and Brooke climbed into their SUV and looked at one another, "Here goes nothing." Lucas said as he turned the key.

Brooke looked over at him, "I can only imagine how this is going to go."

She had no idea.


	5. Find Me Again

_Chapter Four   
__Find Me Again_

Nathan Scott leaned across an unmade bed reaching for an opened book laying on the nightstand. The right hand top corner of the page was creased keeping her place. She loved to read. Nathan closed his eyes and laid his head back on her feather pillow. He sneezed. He was allergic to feather pillows. She knew that.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the cover of the book. It was blue. He glanced at the open bedroom door and thought about Haley. Haley's favorite color was blue maybe that is why all her book covers were blue.

Terin Scott had no idea her favorite author, _Haley James_, was Mrs. Nathan Scott long before she was.

The book remained in his hands and he finally looked down at it. He started reading. _"... I remember when everything seemed so simple and nothing seemed to matter. There were no bills, no jobs, and no one to worry about other than you. Now here I am getting older and older by the minute and the only thing I can find time to do is worry. Worrying about whether or not my bills will get paid. Worrying if I fed my dog. Worrying about whether or not love will ever find me again..."_

Nathan kept reading until he heard a knock at the door. He looked up. It was Terin. "Hey Hon. Sleep well?"

He threw the book over the bed, "Oh... yeah. Perfect."

She smiled. She had these perfectly white, chiclet like teeth. "Good, I'm glad." She glanced at the door, her short blonde bob moving slowly, and then looked back at him, "Well, um," She shoved her hands deep into her cargo pants, "Ava has dance." She looked down at her watch, "So I need to get going."

"Terin I am leaving today. Can't someone else take Ava to dance? Like your mom or someone?" Nathan asked becoming frustrated with the fact that he hadn't seen his wife in so long.

"Nathan, no, they can't. Mom is not feeling well."

He walked in to his closet and threw several shirts onto the bed. "Well, ya know, Terin, I just wanted to spend sometime with you before I left..."

"Again," She butted in. "Before you left again for the fifth time this month. Nathan it is not my fault that we never get to see each other anymore... and maybe that's a good thing because anytime we spend more than five minutes together we fight." She picked up the shirts on the bed and neatly folded them.

"Well here I _am_." He said, throwing his arms into the air, "Here I am talk to me now." She shook her head and continued folding the shirts. Nathan grabbed hold of them and tossed them across the room. He put his hands on her cheeks, "Terin. Talk to me."

She pushed him away, walked across their master bed room, and slowly turned around. She put her hair behind her ear and twisted her wedding ring around her finger. "I want a divorce."

Nathan walked toward her, "What?"

"I want a divorce Nathan." She scooped up the shirts and put them onto the bed. She started folding them again, "I am not happy, and neither are you, and neither are Ava, or Max, or Kelley. And I just can't stand living like this anymore. I don't think I love you anymore and I don't think you love me anymore and this..." She looked up at him, "This just isn't working anymore."

He sat on the bed trying to soak in everything she had just said. "You knew when you married me that this would take work."

"I never knew that it would take as much work as it has." She paused and looked down. "Nathan I love you for the three children you have given me in the past eight years but..." She looked back up, "But I don't love you for the way you make me feel."

The shirts were folded and her work was done in the room. Terin walked out and yelled for Ava. "Avie, come on doll, you have dance today."

Nathan stood outside the door, "Come on Terin, you don't mean all that do you?"

She remained turned around, her back toward him. "Nathan please. We will talk about this when you get back, but I doubt that I will have changed my mind."

Nathan closed his eyes and Ava tugged on his pants. He quickly opened his eyes. "Daddy, have fun, okay?"

He smiled at her perfectly round nose and her ice blue eyes, "Okay baby."

Terin picked up the three year old and Nathan called to her, "Hey Terin?"

She slowly turned around, blinked at him, and kept walking down the stairs.

Right at that moment something funny happened. His heart broke. She didn't know it, but he really did still love her. Nathan knew exactly what best selling author Haley James meant by, "...Worrying about whether or not love will ever find me again..."

He walked back into the empty bedroom and finished packing his things. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and walked into the bathroom. His hands glided over his personally trained body and climbed into the shower. He had to clean up his body and his life.

* * *

Peyton Sawyer-Thomas tapped her toes to the beat inside her studio on the corner of 5th and Civic Street in downtown New Orleans. Recording group, Feeler, was laying down some tracks while Peyton listened carefully making sure no one missed a cord. She sipped on her black coffee and leaned in closely. Hearing something she didn't like she turned off the music, "Nope. Don't like it." She took one more long drink from her coffee and looked at her watch, "We are done for today." She reached for her purse and pulled out her schedule, "Damn, no we are done for the week." She looked up at the guys, "Sorry, gotta go back home."

"That blows." The lead singer, Thadeus Brown, said as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket.

Peyton pulled it out of his hand and tossed it into his glass of brandy, "Nope, not in here you don't. Go outside." She turned off the lights and started to walk out the door. "You think I want my studio to smell like an ashtray. No thanks."

"Whatever." The group said in unison. The drummer hailed a taxi and Peyton watched them disappear.

She tossed her coffee into a metal trashcan next to her studio and walked toward her apartment which was only about seven minutes away. She lived there while her husband lived smack dab in the middle of the city. On the weekends Peyton would go live with him. When she reached the apartment building she buzzed herself in and went up to her humble abode.

Black tees, black pants, blue jeans and Starbucks cups were thrown about the room. Peyton laughed and herself and walked toward her bedroom. Her answering machine blinked the number one. She pressed play.

"Hey Peyton. It's Haley. Um... this is akward. I was just making sure that you were going to Tree Hill this weekend. Um... uh, just give me a call my number is 894-332-8778. Cya."

Peyton started to pick up the phone but her attention was brought to the clock which read 3:31. Peyton's plane left at 4:00.

"Oh shit." She said running toward the door. She hit herself on the head, "Hello? Bags and ticket."

Her luggage and ticket lay on her bed along with a note. "Peyt- I knew you would forget. Here's your stuff. I will miss you and I love you. –T"

Peyton smiled to herself. Her husband, Tyler, had come into her apartment and gotten all her clothes together all by himself. She was so proud.

She grabbed her bags and ticket and headed for the door. She glanced back at her dark apartment, turned and closed the door. As she put the key into the lock she took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." She said. 

* * *

_**Five high school friends depart from normalcy at different times and in different frames of mind.  what will the outcome be?**_

_**a.) Rejoice**_

_**b.) Hostility**_

_**c.) Confusion**_

_**d.) All of the above**_


	6. Love and Memories

**Chapter Five**

**Love and Memories**

Haley was nervous. He could tell by the way her hands rubbed up and down her thighs. She fiddled with the handle on her luggage, pretending like she was going to tip it over but then, at the last minute, bringing it back up. Her Louis Vuitton luggage rocked back and forth and she crossed her legs. She wiggled her right foot until her shoe became loose. She looked around, leaned over, and slid her shoe back on. He watched her every move, remembering the way they were when they were together, back before anything got in the way, back when it was just, "Nathan and Haley".

Nathan couldn't look away. Her short hair made her look older and he liked that. He was scared of what might happen when she looked up and noticed that he was there. He was scared of what might come out of her mouth once they finally started speaking. And he was scared of how he would feel after they spent time together, especially with how he left Sarasota, with Terin telling him that she wanted a divorce. Unfortunately, this didn't really come as a shock to Nathan. Of course he loved Terin, but if anyone knew about there being more to marriage than love, it would be Nathan.

She finally looked up at him. His blue golf shirt made his ice crystal eyes pop. She scanned him up and now and even though she wanted to smile and tell him how great it was to see him, all she could do was look back down at the ground. Haley stared at her luggage again. Nervous and annoyed, she gave it another chance and looked back up at him. Now all she could think of was Savannah Blackstone, he girl he cheated on her with, and Terin Collins, his new wife, his second wife, the wife he loved more than his first.

He couldn't say anything.

She couldn't even form words.

He was so nervous.

She thought she was about to throw up.

"Well if it isn't my little brother?" A voice rang out from behind Haley. It was a familiar voice. A voice she had not heard in nearly a decade. "You already meet a girl? What about that wife…"

Haley slowly turned around to see a tall, dirty blonde man standing next to a thin, brunette woman.

"Haley?" Lucas Scott said as he dropped the bags off of his broad shoulders. He walked toward her and put his hands on top of hers. "My god, Haley James." He put his hands on her cheeks and smiled, his white teeth gleaming.

She stood up and smiled at him. "Hey Luke." Her smiled was a nervous one and Lucas could see right through it.

Lucas pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, "Don't be nervous. It's just us. Okay?" She nodded. He could hear the beginning of a cry welling up inside her body. "Just breathe." She took a deep breath and nodded her head again. "Better?" He asked, still holding her.

"Yeah, fine." She said, starting in a whisper and then gradually becoming louder. Haley pulled away and put her and atop her luggage. She looked around for a minute and then looked at Brooke.

Brooke winked at her and said, "Haley James, tutorgirl, love of my life." Brooke's dimples caved in. Something's never change, Haley thought to herself.

"Brooke Davis, tigger, sunshine in my day." She gave Brooke a big smile and then let her arms engulf her in a hug.

"It's going to be okay, Haley." Brooke whispered into her ear, "I always told you he would come around and he will. I promise."

The two girls pulled away and Haley smiled at her.

"So, Haley James, author extrodinare, how is life? Sensational I'm sure." Brooke said as she locked arms with Haley and they walked toward the sliding glass doors.

Nathan put his bag over his shoulder. "Did you even talk to her?" Lucas asked as he lifted a duffle over his shoulder and drug a rolling bag behind him. Nathan stared at the luggage. "I know, I know. Half of the duffle is mine. The rest is Brooke's."

"Overpack much?" Nathan said as the brothers followed the girls through the doors.

"Yeah, well ask her." Right as Lucas said that Brooke turned around and winked at him.

"I don't think you could be any luckier Luke, and I am serious. I truly mean that. You and Brooke are just too perfect for each other."

The four adults stood with their backs to the airport as they watched a black suv pull infront of them. The tinted passenger window rolled down to reveal the driver.

"You have got to be kidding me." Nathan said as he dropped his bag to the ground.

"Dan?" Lucas said as he leaned forward to get a better look at the man in the driver's seat.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Nathan asked his estranged father.

Dan and Nathan had not seen each other since Terin and Nathan got married nine years ago and the only reason Dan was at the wedding was because he found out that his youngest son was getting married, again, and he wanted to come and make a fool out of himself. Dan and Lucas hadn't seen each other in even longer. Dan saw Lucas at his high school graduation, but since then the two had not spoken and that was exactly how Lucas liked it.

"What? I can't come pick up my son's at the airport…" Dan Scott rose his left eyebrow and smiled, "Trust me, it wasn't easy fiding out you two were coming home. I practically had to threaten people to get them to tell me." He chucked, "Well okay, I did threaten them, but that is not the point."

No one said anything. Brooke grabbed Lucas' hand and squeezed it tight.

"Wow, Lucas Scott, you and cheerleader still together? That's amazing. Hm, you remind me a lot of Lucas's mother when we were… well, together." He laughed again and Lucas narrowed his eyes at him, "But we all saw how that turned out."

"We also saw how your marrage to Deb turned out; I don't sense a trend do you." Lucas said as he put his arm around Brooke's waist.

"Yes, well, Lucas, boys will be boys." He looked at his other son, "Right Nathan?"

Haley glared at Dan until their eyes met. "Wow. Well if it isn't Haley James Scott." He leaned over the passenger seat, "Or did you change your name?" Haley said nothing. "Right, you changed it. I remember now. What with all the books you have been writing its hard to forget your name."

"With all the pain and trouble you have caused everyone it's hard to forget your name too, Dan Scott." Haley said as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets.

He pretended to wipe his eyes, "Wow, that is really moving Haley. Thank you for that." He looked at Brooke, "Well cheerleader, you haven't really said your piece."

"That's because I don't have anything to say to you mister Scott."

"You always were my favorite." Dan said winking at her.

Brooke made a vomiting noise and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked up at Lucas and then and at Dan and said, "Oh I'm sorry, I thought I was about to throw up there for a second."

Dan shrugged his shoulder, "Maybe you got knocked up or something…"

The four friends stared at the black SUV and said nothing. "Well look at the time," Dan said as he looked at an imaginary watch on his wrist, "I better get going. You all didn't need a ride or anything did you."

They said nothing as they watched him roll up the window and drive away.

Lucas looked at everyone and said, "What are we supposed to do now?"

Nathan reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and said, "I think I know someone who can get us."


End file.
